When the Foundation Becomes the Lead
The bass is the foundation of almost every band. But what happens when the foundation becomes the lead?Funky ME is not a bass project in the usual sense. It is electronic instrumental music whose sonic identity grows out of the creative potential of the electric bass.
Sometimes it takes decades for an idea to find its own musical universe.For more than 30 years, Michael Ende gave other artists’ music its foundation — as a bassist, sideman, studio musician and producer. But one question kept following him:
How far
can a single instrument be taken?
The answer is Funky ME.
During the pandemic, Michael finally gave himself the space to pursue that idea without compromise. After decades of playing in bands and studios, Funky ME became the place where his own musical language could take centre stage.
“I wanted to create music with the electric bass at the centre — music that, together with electronic elements, produces a sound you haven’t heard before.”
Three roles. One project.
Funky ME brings together the experience of a live bassist, the thinking of a producer and the curiosity of a sound researcher.
Michael calls the result, with a wink, Bassguitar Powered Electronic Music: electronic music built around everything an electric bass can do.
Funk & Variations
The debut album makes that vision audible for the first time.
Its eleven compositions carry the classical principle of Theme & Variations into a contemporary language of funk, electronic music and cinematic sound design. Each piece develops its own musical identity — always with the electric bass as the narrating voice.
Live: one musician -
full Band sound
A concert begins with a single electric bass. A few bars later, it sounds like an entire band has joined him.
Fretless, piccolo, 8-string and electric bass take on different roles — groove, melody, percussion, atmosphere, power chords, synth and solo — creating a full band sound from the hands of one musician.
Only the electronic beats are prepared, providing the rhythmic foundation of the solo performance. In the optional duo line-up, a live drummer takes over that role entirely.
At the heart of the performance is a computer-based live system Michael built around the way he wants to make music. It carries the electronic beats, provides as many looper tracks as each piece requires and works as a pedalboard and mixing desk at the same time.
But unlike a conventional loop setup, much of the system is programmed in advance. Changes in sound, effects and signal routing are written into the arrangement before the show, leaving Michael free to concentrate on one thing once the music starts: playing.
“I start the piece. From there on, the only things I operate are my instruments.”
The bass parts are recorded, looped and developed in real time. Some become the musical foundation; others are transformed through effects, pitch-shifting and additional layers. Step by step, a complete arrangement takes shape — live, in front of the audience.
The system itself builds on ideas and tools developed by others. The looping plugin at its heart comes from Binkbeats, while Denis Makram created the Ableton template that connected the plugin with Ableton’s timeline — the missing piece Michael had been searching for. From there, he developed the system around the specific needs of Funky ME.
Yet the technology remains a means to an end.
What matters is not how the music is made, but what it does: groove, atmosphere and a sound world that invites you to dance, drift and listen closely. The initial question of how one musician can produce all of this quickly fades.
What remains is the music.
The road here
Funky ME did not appear out of nowhere.
Michael Ende has worked with Letzte Instanz, Leo Sayer, Nevio Passaro, Orange Blue and the Nürnberg Symphony Orchestra.
With Letzte Instanz, he released eleven studio albums and toured the German-speaking world for 18 years, as well as twice through China. In total, he has contributed to around 50 album productions. Twelve of them entered the German album charts, with Liebe im Krieg peaking at number 4.
In 2018, Michael received the Deutscher Rock & Pop Preis as Best Bassist.
Alongside his work on stage and in the studio, he has passed on his experience as a teacher for many years. He taught electronic music at Ansbach University for a decade and has worked with Ibanez, Universal Audio, Marleaux Bassguitars and MainPOP.
what the press says
Jazz thing
“Above all, every track radiates an unmistakable joy in the groove.”
bass musician magazine
"Instead of catering to genre boundaries, this album explores the bass as the narrative voice of an independent artistic identity.”
musik + message
“A little treasure chest for all lovers of bass-driven music — created by a bold and creative mind unafraid to craft something truly original.”
Finding your own voice
At its core, Funky ME is about more than exploring what an electric bass can do.
It is the story of a musician who spent more than three decades giving other people’s music its foundation before deciding to follow his own creative voice without compromise.
Funky ME reveals the creative potential hidden in an instrument that usually works in the background. At the same time, the project carries a wider idea: creative identity begins when you trust your own voice enough to follow it.
When the foundation becomes the lead, it is not only the sound that changes.
It is the perspective from which we hear music.
Find YOUR Funky ME.